Yu Sheng (Chinese New Year Fish Salad)

Yu Sheng is often eaten during Chinese New Year as an appetizer as it symbolises good luck.
Apart from fresh shredded vegetables, other ingredients in yu sheng include sliced raw fish, crackers and a sweet plum sauce.
When all ingredients are added in, all diners at the table would stand and toss the ingredients with their chopsticks while saying various "auspicious wishes" out loud. It is believed that the height of the toss reflects the height of the diner's growth in fortunes.

Ingredients :
• 3 ½ oz Fresh Salmon
• 16 oz of Daikon (White Radish), finely shredded
• 16 oz of Carrot, finely shredded
• 1 Piece Red Pepper (Capsicum), sliced thinly
• 1 inch Fresh Ginger, shredded paper thin
• ¼ Cup of Sweet Pickled Ginger, finely shredded
• 7 Pieces Fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves, finely shredded
• 4 Sprigs of fresh Chinese Parsley
• ¼ Cup of Peanuts, chopped
• Toasted Sesame seeds for garnish
• Chinese Shrimp Crackers for garnish (or Fried Dried Shrimps)
• 1 Tablespoon of Five-Spice Powder

Dressing :
• 2/3 Cup of Plum Sauce
• ½ Cup of Water
• 1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
• 1/3 Cup of Sugar
• Salt to taste

Marinade :
• 1 Teaspoon of Vegetable Oil
• 1 Teaspoon of Sesame Oil
• ¼ Teaspoon of Sugar
• 1/8 Teaspoon of White Pepper
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Five-Spice Powder
• 1 Piece Lemon, squeezed
• Salt to taste

Directions :
1. In separate bowls, cover finely shredded Radish and Carrots with Cold Water and set aside.
2. To make the dressing, mix the Plum Sauce and Water together. Heat oil over low heat and add the Plum Sauce, Sugar and Salt. Cook until Sugar dissolves. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Add Fish Slices and mix. Mound the Fish in the center of the platter. Rinse the Carrots and Daikon and squeeze out excess water. Mound each vegetable - Carrot, Daikon, Red Pepper and Chinese Parsley around the Fish on the platter. Then scatter the Ginger and Lime Leaves over the Fish.
3. Finally, top with Peanut, Sesame Seeds, Shrimp Crackers and Five Spice Powder. Then pour the cooled dressing over the Salad.

For 4-6 servings

Green Apple Salad with Citroen Tea

The ancient sages looked to nature to show them how to live a life of happiness. Oneness with nature and living in harmony with its ways are keys to inner peace. Living in the Urban, we are very far away from Nature and we feel unhappy.  We keep on trying to fill that gap or lack because of the unhappiness and that is never enough no matter what we try to fill it with. So, it is always good to visit the nature often to connect back to it.

Fruits and Veggies signify the nature in a way and therefore consume more of them, as they have vibrational frequencies which is not found in processed or canned food or meat, that is beneficial to our body.  

If you find that green apple is too sour or bland, just add some Korean Honey Citron Tea Paste (for making tea) to spice it up, just like this recipe. This creation is the result of not thinking and the idea just pop up from nowhere.   Hope you like it and find your connection to the creativity in you.

Preparation:      5 mins

               

Ingredients :

°         1 green apple, diced

°         1 tablespoon Korea Honey Citron Tea Paste or to taste

Directions :

1.       Mix all the ingredients well and serves chilled.
Serves 1

Earth and Ocean Salad (Hijiki Seaweed Salad)

A simple yet easy-to-do side dish, marrying the ingredients from the Earth which is carrot and edamame and hijiki seaweed from the blue ocean. Keep the water for blanching carrot and hijiki seaweed as soup base for noodle or clear soup, if desired.

Preparation:    15 mins

Ingredients :

°         2 tablespoons (15g) hijiki seaweed, soaked with 500ml water for 15 mins, drained well  and blanched

°         50g carrot dices, blanched

°         50g edamame

°         3/4  tablespoon sesame oil

°         1/2  tablespoon sugar

°         1 tablespoon light soy sauce

°         some sesame seeds (optional)

Directions :

1.    Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Serve chilled if prefer. 

Serves 2

Cornbread Salad

 Cornbread Salad

 Ingredients :
1 package cornbread mix
1/2 cup celery
1 bell pepper
2 red tomatoes
1 bunch green onions
3 hard-boiled eggs
3/4 cup mayonnaise 

Directions :

Cook 1 package cornbread mix using water instead of milk. While it is cooking, chop up the celery, bell pepper, tomatoes and green onions. Grate the hard-boiled eggs. Crumble cornbread and mix with vegetables, eggs and mayonnaise.